Grief is an emotion that can never truly be said with words. It is a raw, unadulterated feeling that comes in many different shapes. It’s something that aches and tears into your very being and leaves it with scars and bruises. The monstrous feeling is one of the most painful experiences known to human.
My good friend came to me our sophomore year of our undergrad and told me she was interested in commissioning me for her recital in the coming year, as she is passionate about playing music by modern female composers. We grabbed coffee from our favorite local shop and sat down in a secluded spot. She told me about her past, how it still affects her now. We bonded over similar high school horrors and talked for two or three hours. I had never felt more motivated to write a piece of music; it meant so much to someone I care about and I wanted it to be something she could express her own emotions with. I have so much gratitude for her trusting me with a piece of artwork dedicated to her loss.
Thank you truly, Genavieve.
- Maggie Martin
“Every year, on his birthday, I write a letter to the little brother who I lost when I was twelve. My family would do the same and we burnt them in a bonfire, as a symbolic sort of remembrance. I don’t think they know I have always burned a blank page. I’ve tucked every letter into the back of a journal, reading them every so often when I need a reminder. My brother never got to take a breath on this earth, so those letters are really all I have, just pieces of my feelings that words have never really been able to capture. This piece is another one of those letters, one that captures what it is to love and lose, to grieve and remember.”
- Genavieve Neff
“Kept Letters” is simple lullaby that emphasizes the middle to lower range of the alto saxophone. With long held notes, the player has plenty of room to adventure in tone and musicality. At the end, the piano fades out with the melody softly while the solo saxophone continues until it also gradually fades out. The soloist should take their time and sing through their instrument, using it and this music as an amplification of their own emotion, strength, and love.
Genavieve Neff and Dr. Catherine Garner perform Kept Letters on November 16th, 2025, at Broyhill Music Center